Jaiprakash to sell cement, power units to Dalmia Group for Rs 5,666 cr

Deal will give buyer entry into high-growth markets of UP and MP, may turn the firm into a net debt company from almost debt free now

Jaiprakash Associates will sell its cement, clinker, and power plants to Dalmia Cement (Bharat), a subsidiary of Dalmia Bharat, at an enterprise valuation of Rs 5,666 crore, the company told the stock exchanges on Monday. With this Jaiprakash Associates will exit the cement business.

Dalmia Cement will get additional cement capacity of 9.4 million tonnes (mt), along with clinker capacity of 6.7 mt, and thermal power capacity of 280 Mw. As a result, its domestic cement capacity will increase from 37 mtpa at present to 47 mtpa, and to 60 mtpa by FY24, taking the group ahead of industry’s number three player Shree Cement’s projected domestic market capacity of 56 mtpa by mid-FY25. At present, Ultratech is India's largest cement maker, followed by Adani owned, Ambuja-ACC.

Jaiprakash Associates said it decided to exit the cement business in order to repay loans and focus on other core business areas. “With the sale... we hope and pray (that after) having demonstrated its creditable working, Jaiprakash Associates will further ‘cement’ its credentials of being a trustworthy organisation in the country’s infrastructure segment in times to come,” Manoj Gaur, executive chairman of Jaiprakash Associates, said.

Dalmia Bharat said the acquisition will enable it to expand its footprint in the central region and this would represent a significant step towards realising its vision of raising its capacity to 75 mtpa (million tonnes per annum) by financial year 2026-27 (FY27) and 110‐130 mtpa by FY31. 

The plants Dalmia Cement will acquire are situated in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh — the central region. Dalmia Bharat said this region had among the lowest per capita cement consumption in the country at 170 kg and represented 15 per cent of total cement demand. However, demand was expected to grow 7 per cent in the medium term in the region, where the top five players hold 75 per cent of market share.

Analysts said Dalmia was entering the high-growth and new markets of the central region, thereby diversifying from existing markets in the south and east.

But they warned that Dalmia Cement could turn from an almost debt-free company now to one with net debt. However, net debt to Ebitda (Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) might still remain below 2x.

The analysts said the transaction was marginally negative for other players in the central region like Prism, Heidelberg, and Birla Corp as it could get more competitive with the entry of Dalmia and JK cement this year and JSW Cement in the next three years, and capacity expansions by both ACC and UltraTech over the next two years.

The transaction is subject to the completion of due diligence, receipt of statutory clearances and necessary compliances, including approvals from the firm’s lenders, its joint venture partner, and regulatory authorities.

The shares of Jaiprakash Associate closed at Rs 11.74 apiece, a rise of 10 per cent, while those of Dalmia Bharat closed with a rise of 3.3 per cent at Rs 1,905.7 apiece.